The Stranglers is an English group formed in 1974 in Guilford by Jet Black and Hugh Cornwell whose particularity is to have managed to place 23 singles and 18 albums in the various Charts across the Channel.
Their career really started in 1976 thanks to the United Artists label, the only record company out of 24 (!) to have agreed to sign them.
The first single "Grip" was released in 1977 and had an honorable esteem success.
The first album “Rattus norvegicus”, which ranks 4th in the Charts, comes out in the process.
This is followed by a very eventful tour where concerts often degenerate into a fight, a daily lot for punk groups at that particular time.
At the end of 1977 the album "No more heroes" was released and in the middle of 1978, the album "Black and white" was released. Followed in 1979 by the album "The Raven". The first 2 are big successes, the last a little less.
The year 1980 turned out to be catastrophic in all respects : Cornwell was sentenced to 8 weeks in prison for drug possession. The group was arrested in France, in Nice, after their concert turned into a riot. People around them die. Their equipment, which was not insured, was stolen during the American tour ...
In early 1981 the album "The gospel according to the Meninblack" was released. Critics are disastrous and the album painstakingly ranks 8th in the Charts.
At the end of 1981 the album "La folie" was released, this time the sound was much more pop oriented. From which two jewels will be extracted : "La folie" with an incredibly captivating sound and "Golden brown" with its psychadelo-classic-surealist sound. The album is a huge success in France.
Also in 1981, the single “Strange little girl” was released, which hit the cross-Channel, a single that would be their last with the United Artists label.
It was therefore under the EPIC label that the album "Feline" was released in 1983, which also contained two enormous titles, "Midnight summer dream" and "European female". "Stranglermania" begins to spread all over Europe.
A year later, in 1984, the album "Aural sculpture" was released, which again became a success in Europe but not really in England. Album from which the excellent single "Skin deep" will be taken.
In 1986 the album "Dreatime" was released, from which one of the group's biggest successes, the monumental single "Always the sun", would be extracted. Monumental single which will be the last of the group because the dissensions are more and more violent between certain members and the decline of the group becomes inevitable.
Other albums will be released later but will never experience the same level of excellence as the previous ones.
The Stranglers will have left a significant mark in the decade of the Eighties, as much by its escapades, its excesses and its provocative side as by the incredible quality of certain pieces that they will have left us.
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
• Grip 1977
• Peaches 1977
• Something better change 1977
• Straighten out 1977
• No more heroes 1977
• 5 minutes 1978
• Nice 'n' sleazy 1978
• Walk on by 1978
• Duchess 1979
• Nuclear device (The wizard of Aus) 1979
• Bear cage 1980
• Who wants the world 1980
• Thrown away 1981
• Just like nothing on earth 1981
• Let me introduce you to the family 1981
• Golden brown 1982
• La folie 1982
• Strange little girl 1982
• European female 1983
• Midnight summer dream 1983
• Paradise 1983
• Skin deep 1984
• No mercy 1984
• Let me down easy 1985
• Nice in Nice 1986
• Always the sun 1986
• Big in America 1986
• Shakin' like a leaf 1987
• All day and all of the night 1988
• 96 tears 1990
• Sweet smell of success 1990
• Heaven or hell 1992
• Lies and deception 1995
• In heaven she walks 1997
• In a while 1997
• You don't think that what you've done is wrong 1998
• Tonight 1998
• Big thing comming 2004
• Long black Veil 2004
• Norfolk coast 2004
• Bless you (Save you, spare you, damn you) 2006
• Relentless 2006
• Retro rockets 2010
• Freedom is insane 2012
• Giants 2012
• And if you should see Dave... 2021
• If something's gonna kill me 2021
• This song 2021
Clips :
1977 ... the very psychedelic beginnings. Difficult at this time to imagine the career that awaits them ...
1977 ... anyway, 2nd title and already 2nd classified title. A career start on the wheel hats and which positions them ideally for the future ...
1977 ... a BIG year 1977 with a plethora of titles and repeated successes. For a first year of existence, what more !
1977...a title released only in A-Side across the Channel. Hence a slightly lesser impact than the others but all the same...
1977 ... four titles released and four titles classified. Who says better for a first year of existence ? To say the least, impressive !
1978 ... a style to say the least which automatically positions them in the rock group category. At least for now because things will change significantly in the coming years ...
1978...every title that comes out now is classified, which shows the group's rising star status within the English musical elite...
1978 ... things are slowly but surely in place. The style, the sound, the body language. Everything is moving in the right direction ...
1979 ... in provocative and profanity mode. They announce the color loud and clear. With them, it is necessarily politically incorrect !
1979... three years of existence and an already well-stocked prize list. Certainly the success is limited to England but that's already it...
1980 ... straddling 2 eras. What is certain is that the foundations are laid, it only remains to unroll. And to unroll, it will unroll !
1980 ... torn between 2 influences and 2 distinct eras. They will have to choose but above all adapt ! Let us trust them ...
1981 ... this time the turn is well and truly passed, welcome to the 80s. Concerning them, the best is yet to come, that's for sure ...
1981...some titles border on experimental but it won't last. The new musical trends of the beginning of the 80s will force them to fall into line...
1981...the level of production of titles is still consistent with 3 titles produced in this year 1981. And classified as always...
1981 ... the HUGE title that will change everything and propel them to the front of the international scene in a shocking way. Surely one of their most emblematic titles. MAS-TER-FUL !
1981 ... the WONDER. The title that definitely consecrates them as one of the major groups of the decade. An incredible title...and moreover in French. MA-GIC !
1981 ... the tubes are now linked at an impressive speed. An inspiration among the best of the moment without a doubt !
1983 ... new top hit. The group literally walks on the water. And it's far from over, especially when you see the enormous sequel that is on the horizon !
1983 ... each year its exceptional title. For the year 1983, it will be this one. Surely one of their most emblematic titles !
1983...another year with 3 titles, a classic for them now. This title will have a hard time competing with the huge previous title but will still do more than well...
1984 ... and it continues ! An extraordinary writing talent that really makes them one of the biggest planetary phenomena of the moment !
1984 ... the BIG year that saw them line up 2 mega hits back to back. Inspired as never before, everything smiles at them in a truly insolent way. They simply owe it to their extraordinary talent, quite simply !
1985 ... after an uninterrupted festival of titles and large-scale successes, the group will experience a first strong deceleration during this year 1985. We suspected that they could not continue indefinitely on such a rhythm ...
1986 ... after a rather disappointing year in 1985 where nothing interesting will happen, here they are back in this 1986 year in more than certain form. Especially when we see what will follow ...
1986 ... and what about that one. The supreme consecration for a decidedly extraordinary group. HU-GE !
1986 ... when we see the journey made since their beginning, their sound of the beginning and their sound of the moment, it is clear that there has been a slight evolution !
1987...the 'small' years begin to multiply. After 1985, it was the turn of 1987 to be a mono-title year. Attention danger...
1988 ... back to basics. On a luxury cover of a Kinks title dating from 1964. Pure rock 'n' roll !
1990 ... incredible return to the past with this title with a very psychedelic sound. A change of decade celebrated in a most amazing way...with this new luxury revival this time of the title of 'Question Mark & The Mysterians' and dating from 1966 !
1990...it is clear that the level of success at the beginning of the 90s has fallen back to their level of the beginning of the 80s. The best years are now behind...
1992 ... the last notorious hit. For a deeply transformed group that will be unable to evolve, which will inevitably lead to its downfall ...
1995...the adventure will continue but the group is only a shadow of himself. Afterwards we can always hope for a miracle because everything is possible in music...
1997 ... the group will gradually fall into oblivion and only rise to the surface very sporadically. Tough law of the trade ...
1997... which does not prevent him from continuing to produce titles of certain quality. Not everything will be top-level, but some titles will really be worth the detour...
1998...a new opus which will go somewhat unnoticed despite a desire to do well. Difficult for the group to exist at the highest level at the end of the 90s...
1998...will the group succeed in moving on to the next decade, good question. In any case, only him can answer this question...
2004 ... certainly they will succeed in returning the following decade but 6 years will pass between this title and the previous title. Afterwards, it is better to take your time to recharge your batteries than to choose haste and approximation...
2004...you still have to remember that the group started its career in...1977 ! So we're already at more than 25 years of career and the group is still there, which is more than not bad...
2004...even if the group hardly appears any more in the Singles Charts, their albums, them, continue to be classified. It's already better than nothing as they say...
2006...and what is certain is that the group will go all the way as long as he still has the strength to fight. And this regardless of the results - or lack of results - in the Charts...
2006...the style and the sound of the band no longer have anything to do with the Great Era but it's also normal for a band to evolve a little bit. Who would blame them...?
2010...the group begins its 5th decade of career here, who would have thought that possible when they started in 1977 ? Not many people, that's for sure...
2012...and here we go for the 6th decade of career ! Impossible to stop the band, especially since they make it a point of honor to come back every new decade...
2012...nobody, not even them, is able at this stage to say how long the adventure will last. We know that for sure now...
2021...we will lose sight of them for almost 9 years and here they are again in this new decade 2020 in a certain form. Certain but insufficient once again to return to the race...
2021...a year 2021 which clearly proves that if the group is still there it is only due to its talent. A talent that will undoubtedly remain as one of the most inspired of his generation...
2021... three titles just for this year 2021, a remarkable performance as they say. Especially since the group has found a level of inspiration worthy of its rank...
Wiki :
Official Website :
http://www.thestranglers.co.uk/ Greatest Hits :
Discography :